Thiruvilayadal (1965)

Thiruvilaiyadal (English: The Divine Game) is a 1965 Indian Tamil Hindu devotional film written, directed, produced, and distributed by A. P. Nagarajan. The film features Sivaji Ganesan, Savitri, and K. B. Sundarambal in the lead roles with T. S. Balaiah, R. Muthuraman, Nagesh, T. R. Mahalingam, S. V. Sahasranamam, Devika, Manorama, and Nagarajan himself playing pivotal roles. The film's soundtrack and score were composed by K. V. Mahadevan, while the lyrics of the songs were written by Kannadasan and Sankaradas Swamigal.

The story of Thiruvilaiyadal was conceived by A. P. Nagarajan, who was inspired by the Thiruvilaiyadal Puranam, a collection of sixty-four Shaivite, devotional, epic stories written in the 16th century by the saint, Paranjothi Munivar, which record the actions and antics of Lord Shiva appearing on Earth in various disguises to test his devotees. Four of the sixty-four stories are depicted in the film. The first is about the poet Dharumi; the second concerns Dhatchayini (Sati). The third recounts how Shiva's future wife Parvati is born as a fisherwoman and how Shiva, in the guise of a fisherman, finds and remarries her. The fourth story is that of the singer Banabhathirar. The soundtrack was received positively and songs from it like "Pazham Neeyappa", "Oru Naal Podhuma", "Isai Thamizh", and "Paattum Naane" remain popular today among the Tamil diaspora.

Thiruvilaiyadal was released on 31 July 1965 to critical acclaim, with praise directed at the film's screenplay, dialogue, direction, music, and the performances of Ganesan, Nagesh, and Balaiah. The film was a commercial success, running for over twenty-five weeks in theatres, and became a trendsetter for devotional films as it was released at a time when Tamil cinema primarily produced social melodramas. It won the Certificate of Merit for the Second Best Feature Film in Tamil at the 13th National Film Awards, and the Filmfare Award for Best Film – Tamil. The film was dubbed into Kannada as Shiva Leela Vilasa, the first Tamil film to be dubbed into Kannada in ten years. A digitally restored version of Thiruvilaiyadal was released in September 2012, which was also a commercial success.

Synopsis

Lord Shiva gives a sacred fruit, brought by the sage Narada, to his elder son Vinayaka as a prize for outsmarting his younger brother Muruga in a competition to win it. Angered by his father's decision, Muruga, dressed as a hermit, goes to Palani, despite Avvaiyar's attempts to convince him to return to Mount Kailash. His mother, goddess Parvati, arrives there and narrates the stories of four of Shiva's divine games to calm Muruga.

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